Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing for a late drop of ENGL100 (Summer, 2018) and aegrotat standing in PHIL257A (Fall, 2017). This is my second academic appeal at Queen¿¿s.
In the late Fall of 2017, I ran out of medication for my Bipolar Type II Disorder and began having symptoms of anxiety, depression, and a reversed sleep schedule. These symptoms left me unable to leave bed during the day and awake for most nights, which all worsened following a breakup. I was not seeing a psychiatrist in Kingston. As a result, I missed most of my classes and was behind on assignments. I was able to account for my assignments by contacting my professors for extensions on papers with an explanation of my circumstances, but was unable to work up the nerve to do so for the midterm I ended up missing in PHIL257A due to anxiety. The extensions for papers were requested the following semester, when I felt able to make such requests. However, a different professor taught the latter half of the course, who was unable to make the relevant accommodations.
For the start of ENGL100 (Summer, 2018), my sleep schedule had worsened. Throughout the exam season I was suffering episodes of panic and mania without treatment, which took quite a toll on my mental health. I tried to reach out to LaSalle, but solutions were long-term while my episodes were current. My mental health in a weakened state and having been untreated throughout the school year, it took me some time to reach out to my psychiatrist in Toronto, my hometown. With my psychiatrist, Dr. RH Kim, we discovered that I have Obsessive Compulsive type personality on top of my original diagnoses of Bipolar Type II Disorder and Adult Type ADHD. The personality disorder manifests specifically with building my self-esteem based on my academic and other performance. As a result of this crippling perfectionism along with the physical distance from school and the distraction of a job, I coped by hiding from this compulsion by simply not ¿performing¿¿: not completing or submitting any work. After working with my psychiatrist for some time, receiving the proper therapy and prescribed medication, I was able to finally submit a paper. Unfortunately, following this I suffered two concussions and my dog passed away, which put be me back in my progress until earlier this semester, which is why this appeal is coming after the one-term deadline.
Fortunately, having received new and ongoing treatments earlier in the year than last year, I am seeing significant improvements in my mental health and general capability. With this running start, I am taking ENGL100 in Fall 2018 and Winter 2019 and refraining from taking courses online, particularly over summers, until I am sure I can handle the load. I also have reached out to the proper resources and academic accommodations in Kingston, so as not to experience the slump that I did last year, and am in touch with a psychiatrist and the Start-Up Transition program for academic strategy here. I would like to note that I have experienced great improvements in my second year from my first year already, having submitted all of my essays as opposed to less than half, and am continuing to see improvements thus far. The progress is gradual, but adding up. With academic accommodations and continued treatment in Kingston, I believe this year will be even more successful.

Thanks,
Omar Elmor
20019084